Club Management Focus: Spring 2016

The Summer Meeting

The Summer Meeting, in its new home in Eastbourne, is a little over three months away. It takes place at the Winter Garden on 19th to 28th August.

We hope that all clubs will help us to promote the event to EBU members, but in particular we hope that clubs in the southern counties will encourage their members to attend.

The move to Eastbourne was in response to feedback from our members, and addresses a number of the concerns expressed about the congress when it was in Brighton – parking in Eastbourne is just £2 per day; hotels are on average 30% cheaper in Eastbourne than in Brighton; entry fees for the main congress have been reduced by 10%. We hope that this will lead to a good attendance at this year’s event.

We have a few features of the Summer Meeting which we hope you will be particularly keen to promote to your members.

The Really Easy Congress

The Really Easy Congress is part of the Summer Meeting, and is for all levels of novice players.

The congress includes events for novices who have recently started learning, and for less experienced club players who are not yet ready for the main congress events. All players should have little/no experience of green-point events, and be below the rank of Master and lower than a Jack on the NGS.

Monday: A free introductory day for those who want to find their feet, or knock off any rust.

Tuesday – Thursday: The main events, with a mixture of lessons, and competitions. The group will be divided so that the lessons and competitions are targeted at the abilities of the participants in each session.

This year we are not asking people to commit to a First Step or Next Step event. Everyone will start together, giving each individual the flexibility to find the level which suits them best.

There is no lower limit on ability, other than we would expect that all participants will have recently started to learn to play, or have played in the past. Please note that there are no lessons for those starting completely from scratch - they should therefore have an understanding of the rudiments of the game, and the mechanics of playing. In some sessions, however, assistance can be provided to novice players.

At the upper end of the spectrum, we would expect that the stronger players would still be 'inexperienced', with little/no experience of green-point events, and they are below the rank of Master and lower than a Jack on the NGS.

We hope the event will appeal to all the less experienced members of your club who are wanting to try playing at a bigger event. Please encourage them to take part.

Also, if you know any bridge teachers in your area, please pass on this information to them.

50% discount for club group bookings

As was the case last year, we are offering clubs the opportunity to come as a group to our midweek afternoon events, and receive a significant discount off their entry fee. Clubs are invited to take advantage of our midweek special - 'buy one get one free' when entering ten pairs.
For a payment of £90 a club can secure places for up to ten pairs in the following events:
Monday 22nd August 2pm Open Pairs
Tuesday 23rd August 2pm Open Pairs
Wednesday 24th August 2pm Open Pairs
Thursday 25th August 2pm Open Pairs
Friday 26th August 1pm Open Pairs or Point-a-Board Teams

These events are all single-sessions and blue points will be awarded.

An eleventh pair, or above, will also be allowed half-price entry (£4.50 per person). The offer applies when all club members take part in the same afternoon session (so the entry can be split across the two events on Friday afternoon if preferred). Not all ten places need be filled, so you can still make a saving if only coming as a group of six to nine pairs.

We hope that there will be enough interest that you may attend as a group from your club, but if that is not the case then we hope that you will still encourage your members to join us. Information on the events is available on our website:The Summer Meeting - for information on the full congressWeekend Challenge Events – for information on the prestigious multi-day competitions which take place on the weekends.One Day Events – for information on the single day competitions: multi-session events at the weekends, and single session events on weekdays.

Thank you for your support of the event, and we hope to see you and your members (perhaps as a group booking) in Eastbourne.